What You Need to Know About Winter Tree Maintenance

Winter is often assumed to be an “off period” for arborists and tree care professionals because plants and trees are not thriving. However, winter brings its own challenges to your tree’s health, even while it’s dormant, and for this reason it’s actually a great time to conduct tree maintenance.

There are some things you can do yourself to protect your trees during winter, and others that may require the help of an experienced tree professional. Use these tips this winter to help your trees avoid damage and foster healthy and robust growth in the spring!

Tips for winter tree maintenance

Winter conditions like ice, snow and cold weather can be incredibly stressful for your trees. Although the temperatures don’t get extremely low, it’s best to be prepared for odd temperature shifts and the occasional snowfall:

Prune: Pruning your trees is easier in winter because you can see the structure and problem branches more clearly. Pruning will help your trees maintain good shape and prevent loss of limbs.

Mulch: In early winter, add a thin layer of mulch to the base of your tree. This helps to insulate the soil and tree roots and slows water loss.

Hydrate: Until the ground freezes, keep your trees well watered to ensure proper hydration throughout the winter.

Wrap: Wrap your trees in tree wrap or plastic tree guards to prevent sunscald, a condition that causes damage when the tree freezes at night and is thawed by the sun during the day. Sunscald can cause visible damage and cracks to the trunk’s bark.

Clear snow: Snow and ice that builds up on top of tree branches can get extremely heavy and cause branch damage. Routinely push snow off of branches using gentle upward movements.

Benefits of maintaining trees in winter

There are many benefits to doing winter tree care yourself or hiring a professional for tree maintenance. Here are just a few reasons to keep winter tree maintenance top-of-mind:

Tree health: Tree maintenance is essential during all parts of the year to foster healthy growth, prevent potential damage and keep your yard or landscape looking beautiful. Keeping up with tree maintenance in the winter helps prevent any damage and mitigate problems with the tree all year long.

Extreme weather protection: Having tree maintenance done in winter helps protect your tree against severe damage in the event of a harsh winter storm. The removal of problem branches is particularly important because of the common winter occurrence of broken or weighed-down limbs.

Avoid diseases: Pruning your trees in winter actually helps prevent the spread of tree diseases or pests. It is less likely that your tree will attract harmful pests or spread bacteria or fungi if you cut during dormant season.

More efficient: Pruning and caring for trees in winter is more efficient and easier for both you and your tree care professionals because the tree is easier to see and access. Additionally, you can worry less about the potential damage to plants around or below your tree during pruning.

If you need a professional to help with your winter tree maintenance, call Allan’s Tree Service. We’ve assisted residential, commercial and industrial clients with tree services for 15 years. Call today for a free estimate!